Masters athletics is a class of the sport of
athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...
for athletes of over 35 years of age. The events include
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
,
road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain.
These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...
and
cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...
. Competitors are bracketed into five-year age groups (which promotes fair competition). For international events the first age group is 35 to 39. Men as old as 105 and women in their 100s have competed in running, jumping and throwing events. Masters athletes are sometimes known as "veterans" and the European Masters Championships, for instance, is known as "Eurovets." This and other high level events including biennial World Championships cater largely to elite-level athletes, but many masters athletes are novices to athletics and enjoy the camaraderie offered by masters competition at the local, National and International level. Most National governing bodies for track and field hold annual Masters championships. Prestigious National meets such as the
Penn Relays
The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...
and the
United States Olympic Trials (track and field) put on exhibition events for top masters athletes. Masters athletics is growing Internationally with over 6000 athletes competing at recent World Championships. World; National and Regional records are maintained for each age group.
In the United States, USATF (USA Track & Field) hosts various Masters events including National Championships for Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field and Cross Country. USATF adds the age divisions 30–34 as Sub-Masters, and 25–29 as Pre-Masters to give athletes just past college age more opportunities to compete.
History
Since at least the early 1930s, middle-aged athletes in Europe, Australia and New Zealand have competed with younger athletes, especially in cross country and road races. Some were active into their 50s. And on the track, Briton Don Finlay recorded a 14.4-second mark in the 120-yard high hurdles in 1949 at age 40, according to the biennial handbook published by World Masters Athletics.
In 1966, San Diego civil lawyer David Pain
[ Masterstrack profile David Pain] began organizing what he called "masters miles" at indoor and outdoor track meets, and set the minimum age at 40. He and others soon launched the U.S. National Masters Championships, where everyone 40 and over competed together. The inaugural meet, at San Diego's
Balboa Stadium
Balboa Stadium is an American football and soccer stadium on the west coast of the United States, located in San Diego, California. Just east of San Diego High School, the original stadium was built in 1914 as part of the 1915 Panama–California ...
, was held July 19–20, 1968, and attracted 186 competitors. The second U.S. masters nationals, July 3–6, 1969, drew 200 athletes and introduced 10-year age groups for all events.
Masters Track and Field: A History by Leonard Olson
Inspired by these first nationals, participants founded their own masters meets across the United States and into Canada. Also helping light a fire under sedentary seniors was retired Air Force Maj.
Kenneth H. Cooper
Kenneth H. Cooper (born March 4, 1931, Oklahoma City) is a doctor of medicine and former Air Force lieutenant colonel from Oklahoma, who pioneered the benefits of doing aerobic exercise for maintaining and improving health. In 1966 he coined the t ...
, a physician whose 1968 book "
Aerobics
Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness (flexibility, muscular strength, and cardio-vascular fitness). It ...
" created a running craze. Former
University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
coach
Bill Bowerman
William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 22 NCAA champio ...
, who in 1962 witnessed older people doing "
jogging
Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...
" in New Zealand, also is credited with fanning masters flames with his many articles written on the subject in the 1960s.
In October 1971, Pain and his travel-agent wife, Helen, traveled to London, Munich, Copenhagen and several other European cities to lay the groundwork for a historic masters track tour of Europe, Olson's book recalled. In late-summer 1972, the Pains took 152 mainly U.S. and Canadian masters athletes to London, Helsinki, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Cologne for age-group track meets and distance races—thus jump-starting the worldwide masters track movement. In December 1973, another tour by the Pains, with 51 athletes, traveled to the South Pacific and Oceania for more age-group competitions.
USMITT archive
Former Chilean decathlete
Hernán Figueroa
Hernán Figueroa Bueg (26 August 1927 – September 2013) was a decathlete from Chile. He won the gold medal in the men's decathlon event at the inaugural Pan American Games in 1951. He is a two-time Olympian (1948 and 1952) for his ...
instigated development of organizations across South America.
The first World Masters Championships were held August 11–16, 1975, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Men and women from 32 nations took part. A meeting at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
saw the election of a steering committee to plan an international governing body for masters track.
[ Mastershistory World Championships results]
The inaugural Americas Masters Games was held in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, Canada in 2016.
The first officially approved
centenarian athletic mark was Ben Levinson's (age 103) 1998 shot put record that was approved by the WAVA (World) Records committee on 1 January 1999 and the USA Masters Record committee on 4 December 1998.
Organization
World Masters Athletics
World Masters Athletics (WMA) is the worldwide governing body for the sport of masters athletics – which includes track and field, cross country, and road running events – as participated by people over 35 years of age.
As the need became ap ...
(WMA) is the worldwide governing body for Masters athletics. It provides a global standard of rule modifications (based upon the international rules for the sport created by the
IAAF
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...
) for athletes of a certain age. Each individual country governs its own affairs with an organizational governing body that is an affiliate to WMA.
The World Association of Veteran Athletes was founded August 9, 1977, at the second
World Masters Athletics Championships
The World Masters Athletics Championships are the biennial championships for masters athletics events held under the auspices of World Masters Athletics, formerly called the World Association of Veteran Athletes, for athletes 35 years of age or o ...
in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
, Sweden. World masters championships have been held outdoors every two years ever since, and a biennial World Masters Indoor Championships debuted in March 2004 in Sindelfingen, Germany. The most recent outdoor world meet was in 2011 in
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
, California. The most recent Indoor Championships were held in
Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...
, Finland in April 2012.
WAVA, as it was known, later changed its name to World Masters Athletics and continues to be the sport's governing body. WMA has been working to coordinate its outdoor championship schedule with the International Masters Games Association, which holds the multisport
World Masters Games
The World Masters Games is an international multi-sport event held every four years which, in terms of competitor numbers, has developed into the largest of its kind. Governed by the International Masters Games Association (IMGA), the World Mast ...
every four years.
Age categories
;Men
*M 35
*M 40
*M 45
*M 50
*M 55
*M 60
*M 65
*M 70
*M 75
*M 80
*M 85
*M 90
*M 95
*M 100
*M 105
;Women
*W 35
*W 40
*W 45
*W 50
*W 55
*W 60
*W 65
*W 70
*W 75
*W 80
*W 85
*W 90
*W 95
*W 100
*W 105
Age-graded tables
A major contribution of masters athletics was the introduction of the Age-Graded Tables, a set of "age factors" and "age standards" that, when multiplied by a time or distance, allow athletes of any age and event to compare their performances with that of any other athlete. According to "Age-Graded Tables" published by National Masters News, individual statisticians first devised the tables in the mid-1970s as a way of helping score multi-event competitions for older athletes, such as the decathlon, heptathlon and indoor pentathlon.
The first official Age-Graded Tables were compiled by WAVA and published by National Masters News in 1989. Revisions (taking into account improved performances at all ages) were released in 1991, 1994, 2006, 2010 and 2014 (minor revision). The tables can be applied to five-year age groups or individual ages from 8 to 100. The only official use of the Age-Graded Tables by WMA is in scoring multi-event competitions. But the Age-Graded Tables have been incorporated into track meet management software by Hy-Tek and others and used to determine age-graded winners in many other competitions, especially road runs.
The tables also show more or less how an older athlete's performance compares with an Open (20–30) athlete's mark. But the tables have been controversial. For example, Jamaican-born Olympian
Merlene Ottey
Merlene Joyce Ottey (born 10 May 1960) is a Jamaican-Slovenian former track and field sprinter. She began her career representing Jamaica in 1978, and continued to do so for 24 years, before representing Slovenia from 2002 to 2012. She is ran ...
in 2006 ran the 100-meter dash in 11.34 seconds at the age of 46. The Age-Graded Tables suggest that performance corresponds to an Open (ages 20–30) equivalent of 10.122. Since the open world record for women is 10.49 (by
Florence Griffith Joyner
Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner (born Florence Delorez Griffith; December 21, 1959 – September 21, 1998), also known as Flo-Jo, was an American track and field athlete. She set world records in 1988 for the 100 m and 200 m. During the late 1 ...
in 1988), Ottey's converted mark seems implausible. In fact, the WMA committee has excluded certain performances as "nonrepresentative," and not used them in designing the Age-Graded Tables.
Masters Track and Field Championships
#
USATF Masters Outdoor Championships
The USATF Masters Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition which serves as the national championship for the United States for athletes in masters age groups. Organized by USA Track & Field, the national governing body for t ...
began July 1968 and have been held every year (except 2020).
#
USATF Masters Indoor Championships
The USATF Masters Indoor Championships is an annual track and field competition which serves as the national indoor championship for the United States for athletes in masters age groups. Organized by USA Track & Field, the national governing body ...
began March 1975 and have been held every year (except 2020).
#USA Track and Field (in 2021) added the 25–29 age bracket for the USA National Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championship. Age 30–34 is already competing at the USA National Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championship.
#
World Masters Athletics Championships
The World Masters Athletics Championships are the biennial championships for masters athletics events held under the auspices of World Masters Athletics, formerly called the World Association of Veteran Athletes, for athletes 35 years of age or o ...
began August 1975 in Canada and continue to today.
World Masters Track and Field Rankings
Website mastersrankings.com started USA Masters rankings in 2006, and World Masters rankings in 2013. The website provides year be year rankings and meet results. Prior to 2006 other methods were used to create the rankings, the current system provides a more complete and timely data system.
[Rankings]
Retrieved Oct. 26, 2020
See also
*
European Veterans Athletics Championships
The European Masters Athletics Championships (formerly European Veterans Athletics Championships) are the biannual championships for masters athletics events held under the auspices of European Masters Athletics (formerly European Veterans Athletic ...
*
Masters Athletics World Records
Masters athletics is a class of the sport of athletics for athletes of over 35 years of age. The events include track and field, road running and cross country running. These are the current world records in various five-year-groups , maintained b ...
*
Masters Swimming
Masters swimming is a special class of competitive swimming (sport), swimming for swimmers 25 years and older. Premasters is normally included as well, from 18 years old (Canada, United States and Australia) or 20 years old (Europe).
In Canada ...
*
United States records in masters athletics
These are the current records in the various age groups of masters athletics for United States competitors. Starting at age 35, each age group starts on the athlete's birthday in years that are evenly divisible by 5 and extends until the next su ...
*
John Whittemore
John Whittemore (November 20, 1899 – April 13, 2005) was an American centenarian from Montecito, California, who was previously credited as being the "world's oldest athlete" (held until June 28, 2015, before being surpassed by Stanisław Ko ...
, one of USA's oldest athlete
*
USATF Masters Hall of Fame
The USATF Masters Hall of Fame is the Masters section of the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. It is intended to select worthy athletes from the various divisions of Masters athletics involved in the sports of track and field, road running an ...
*
USATF Masters Outdoor Championships
The USATF Masters Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition which serves as the national championship for the United States for athletes in masters age groups. Organized by USA Track & Field, the national governing body for t ...
*
USATF Masters Indoor Championships
The USATF Masters Indoor Championships is an annual track and field competition which serves as the national indoor championship for the United States for athletes in masters age groups. Organized by USA Track & Field, the national governing body ...
*
List of centenarian masters track and field athletes
In the sport of athletics, centenarian competitors were recorded in the early 20th century, and have become increasingly common in the 21st century. This has occurred during a period of population ageing and increased longevity in wealthy count ...
*
List of centenarian masters track and field records
In the sport of track and field, centenarians compete in the M100 & M105 (men) or W100 (women) age categories of masters athletics. The world records for this age group are ratified by World Masters Athletics, the global sports body for masters tr ...
*
List of Masters Athletes
This is a list of notable people who have participated in masters athletics. Most have achieved their primary notoriety through athletic endeavors except when noted.
* Luciano Acquarone
* Aimo Aho
* Gabriela Andersen-Schiess
* Henry Andrade ...
*
List of United States records in masters athletics
These are the current records in the various age groups of masters athletics for United States competitors. Starting at age 35, each age group starts on the athlete's birthday in years that are evenly divisible by 5 and extends until the next su ...
*
List of world records in masters athletics
Masters athletics is a class of the sport of athletics for athletes of over 35 years of age. The events include track and field, road running and cross country running. These are the current world records in various five-year-groups , maintained b ...
Further reading
*
*
References
External links
World Masters Athletics– Official site
USATF MastersAustralian Masters Athletics siteNorth and Central America and Caribbean Region of World Masters Athletics (NCCMA)USATF American Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masters Athletics
Age categories in athletics
Athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...